Magazine Flat Plan

Front Cover

Colour Usage: On the front cover, I am aiming to use a maximum of 4 colours, pink, purple, mustard and teal. I am only using a small amount of colours due to the genre and style of the magazine I am wanting to create. From the research I did, I know that the most popular fashion and lifestyle magazines only have a small running house theme. For example, Elle, uses only one main colour, and a pop of another colour. I think this is a good product to compare my magazine to as it follows the same conventions I want my magazine to have, even though it is an international magazine. I have chosen my colour scheme to include a dusty pink and burgundy purple. I personally like these colours, therefore think they will fit in well for my female magazine. Pink and purples connote pretty flowers and girly perfumes, which is things my target audiences like. I wanted to add a pop of colour, so I chose a striking mustard/ yellow colour. I chose this as it connects well with the other colours I have picked. The colour yellow represents the sun and happiness, which is how I want my readers to feel when they read my magazine, happy. Finally, I have also included a beige and light teal on my colour scheme board, however I am unsure whether I will use them on my front cover.

Flat Plan of Front Cover

Image Usage: I will have one main image on the front cover, which will be of a beautiful female in a natural position with a Invitational facial expression. I feel like this will really make her eyes and natural beauty stand out. The image will be either a medium close- up or a close- up shot, as this camera angle is commonly used on front covers. I want the model to be in fashionable high street clothing. I haven't decided what colour this will be yet, but I am planning to take different outfits on the day of my image photo shoot. I want her makeup to be simplistic but also connecting with the house theme colours, so maybe a pink lipstick to add a pop of colour to the plain look. Furthermore, I have not decided how I want to style my models hair yet, but I will be practising different styles a couple of days before the photoshoot. I want everything to connect to a North East female, but also have a general connection with females and beauty. Furthermore, I have not yet decided the colour of the background, but I am taking my images on a plain, white background, therefore I can decide whether the simplistic background is suitable, or whether I should add some graphics, such as fading from pink to white etc. I think this will add complexity and interest to my front cover, although I do not want it to look too cluttered, therefore I will decide when designing the page.

Text Usage: On the front cover, I aim to use a bunch of different words to captivate the audience. I have not yet decided what stories will be featured, but I will ensure they use language that will attract my target audience. Additionally, I aim to use the word 'win' in the puff, offering a lucky winner tickets for a concert in the North East, or a voucher for a high street store like Topshop, or River Island. I think by using the word 'win' will interest teenagers as most don't have a lot of spare disposable income, therefore anything they could win in the North East locally is a bonus. This may attract a wider target audience, especially if the prize I offer to giveaway is a good one that people outside my primary target audience would be interested in. Lastly, I aim to use special terminology that girls in the North East understand, this will make them feel connected to my magazine.

Layout and Font Usage: My regional fashion and lifestyle magazine will hold all of the normal conventions of a front cover, however I will make it clear as to what genre it is. I will do this by the use of cover lines and the main image. I will place the masthead at the top of the page as it will be the first word you come across when seeing the front cover. I will make sure this is in an attractive font, but still convey the feelings of elegance and fashion. I am yet to decide the colour of my masthead, but I will be designing it soon, and will probably ask my Facebook group on their thoughts. There will be a banner at the top suggesting to viewers to look on my website for new information, or the latest gossip. Hopefully this will increase my audience, as looking online may be easier for some people, other than actually purchasing my magazine. This will add professionalism to my magazine and make it more realistic too. I will then include my web address, date and issue number underneath the masthead, as I think this is a good place to locate important information. This is also seen on other fashion magazines, therefore will hopefully make mine look skilled like the others. Moreover, I will feature three to four cover lines down the left hand side of the page, this then applies to the Rule of Thirds, and will attract the audience when my magazine is on a stand. I will make sure they are interesting stories and the font will be a one I use throughout the production. I think it needs to be quite simplistic and modern, connoting with how my magazine will be 'trendy and fashionable'. If I decide to illustrate the background, then the cover lines will be white. I think this will add contrast to my page, and make the font stand out, which is what I want. Additionally, I will place a puff underneath the masthead promoting a competition inside. I'm yet to decide what the shape of the puff and the colour, but I hope it attracts more individuals when they glance at my magazine. The main cover line will be aligned to the right of the page, in the middle of the main image. This will be larger than the other sell lines, as it will connect with the model on the front. I want it to be obvious that bother are intertwined. The font and colour will be the same as the other cover lines, however will stand out because of the size. On the bottom left of the page will be the magazine institution. This will help my institution get more recognition in the media world. Lastly, the barcode will be situated at the bottom right hand side of the page. I was debating putting it underneath the masthead, however decided against this because the magazine information looked better there. I am going to generate my own barcode on an internet website, so it is specialised for my work. This convention is seen on almost 210,000 magazine throughout the World, therefore it would look highly unprofessional if I did not have one on my front cover.

Contents Page

Colour Usage: On the contents page, my aim is to incorporate the same colours that I used on the front cover, so I have a running house thee. I have not yet decided on what colours I will use for each convention on the page, however I do know what the masthead featured on the contents will be identical to the one on the front cover. I think the headline will be in either white, to contrast from a colourful background, or black. I also want to add a border around the page in the colour mustard, as I think this will add a running theme throughout my pages, as the colours connect. Furthermore, the date and the page number will be in either black or white, depending on the background. On the content of the magazine, I will have the writing in black, and the page number in a house theme colour, just so everything follows a specific theme.

Flat Plan of Contents Page

Image Usage: The images I use on the contents page will connect with the cover lines on the front cover. For example, the main image will be of the cover model, however in a different body position that the cover. This will signify synergy throughout my magazine. I want the model to be more relaxed than the front cover, such as smiling or a mug shot. She will also have the same makeup and hair style as the main image on the cover. The secondary images will be of makeup or a place you have to visit in the North East, which may connect with the cover lines featured on the front cover and contents. I am still not 100% positive that secondary images will be used as a member of my target audience, said in an interview that she preferred one main image.

Text Usage: Again, I have not yet decided what content will be featured on this page, however I know that the language I use has to be aimed towards my target audience. From my research, I understand that most people want to read about regional fashion and celebrity gossip, therefore I will try and include as many articles about this on the contents page. For example, "Top 10 fashion items in the North East now", "Best places to eat when on a budget", and "Who's coming to perform in the North East soon?".

Layout and Font Usage: The layout for my contents page is inspired by international fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Cosmopolitan. They are very minimalistic compared to other genres of magazines (e.g. rock- Q Magazine). I think by it being simple really emphasises the primary and secondary images. I placed the masthead and contents page at the top so it will be easily recognisable when flicking to this page.

Double Page Spread

Colour Usage: I aim to incorporate the whole house theme on this double page spread. I would like the article headline to be in a pink colour, as well as the quotes on the main image. I feel as though this will add a pop of colour, considering the text and background will either be black or white. I may also add a quite between the article text, and this will be in the pink colour too, just so it follows the same theme. i want the background of the double page spread to be in white, as I feel like the contrast will be too harsh if its any other colour. Furthermore, I aim to follow the same colour shame when taking images of my model, so it all fits together. The page number and date will be in a basic colour of black, so it is easily visible.

Flat Plan of Double Page Spread

Image Usage: I am planning on using one main image on the left page, as I think this will add more effect to the article. Most fashion double page spreads only contain one image, therefore I want to follows this trend. I want the model to be dressed in casual clothes, as this is the style I am going for throughout my magazine. I want her clothing to be a simple colour, as I think it would make the page look childish and unprofessional if she had something on that neon coloured and in your face bright. The model will also have silver or gold jewellery on, so it adds accessories to her outfit.

Text Usage: The text on this page will be very informative towards my target audience. I am aiming on producing a interview/ story article, therefore it will interest people that enjoy reading stories or interviews. I also plan on using words that connect with the audience, therefore they will feel more involved with my magazine. I am yet to write the double page spread article, but when I do (which is soon), I plan on it being very detailed, using a lot of teenage girl slang.

Layout and Font Usage: The layout will be very simplistic, as I don't think fashion articles are cluttered. They always look modern, which is how I want mine to be. The main image will take up most of the left page, and I will also feature the headline on that side too. This is so the right page doesn't look too full with the text on it too. On the right, I will use three columns to include the text in, I think this makes the double page spread look very professional and is used in most fashion magazines. The font used will be very modern and bold, as the colour will be quite feminine. For the article headline, I want it to be in the purple colour, as I think it will look bold on the page.